Shield for buildings



(No Model.)

W. DURKIN. SHIELD IORA BUILDINGS.

Patented Apr. 4, 1893.

.IP Ia 4 l1I `l J II WITNESS A TTOHN E YS.

UNITED STATES PATENT @idrica WILLIAM DURKIN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SHIELD FOR BUILDiNGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 494,848, dated April 4, 1893.

ApplieationlcdMayZ, 1892. Serial No. 434,188. (No model.)

.To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM DURKIN, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania., have invented a new and Improved Shield for Buildings, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a shield for buildings, adapted to prevent dampness rising above the first floor, and also to prevent the passage of vermin from the foundation to the floors of the buildingabove it, and the object of the invention is to provide a shield which will be exceedingly simple, durable and economic and capable ofapplication to the walls of a building either above or below the joists at the foundation or lower floor, and whereby the shield may be applied to all piers, arches, and center walls of any structure.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures and letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the views.

Figure l is a side elevation of a portion of the foundation and side Wall of the building; and Fig. 2is asection taken practically on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

The foundation A, may be constructed in any well-known manner, as likewise the side wall B. The shield is preferably made of metal, and the metal ordinarily used is copper. The shield may be made of any desired length, and comprises a body section 10 and side flanges ll, the iianges being ordinarily integral with the body and flared outward in opposite directions. The shield may be used in such' a manner as to cause the flanges to extend upward or downward, as may be found most adaptable, and the body of the shield is preferably made of a width greater than the thickness of the foundation or wall that it is designed to protect.

As a preventive of dampness the shield is shown in both Figs. 1 and 2, as laid upon the ground, and the foundation walls are built upon the shield. When the shield is used in this mannerits flanges point upward. Shields are also employed to cover the top of the foundation, the side walls being built upon the body of the shield, and the flanges of the shield incline downward, one appearing at the outer face of the building and the other at the inner face, the flange at the inner face being preferably made to enter, or to rest upon the door joists l2, as shown in Fig. 2, and the body of the flange extends a sufficient distance inward over the joists to enable the base of the plasterin g or wall covering to rest upon it, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2; but if in practice itis found more advantageous, the shield, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, may be placed in the foundation in such mauner that it will be immediately beneath the joists.

It is obvious that a shield constructed as above set forth will eectually prevent dampness passing from the ground upon which the structure is erected to the foundation or to the upper walls. It will also prevent dampness from being communicated from a foundation to the upper walls, and it is utterly impossible for rats, mice, and other vermin to enter the upper floors using the space between the wall and the plaster as a medium; and it is likewise obvious that as rats and mice force their way through the flooring at or near the base board, they can not gain such admittance when this shield is used, as it extends too far over the joists. Itis also obvious that this device is not only simple and durable, butthat it is exceedingly effective and capable of ready application.

1When necessary the metal shield or shields may be carried from the foundation direct to the first floor joists.

The shields may be either plain or crimped and the use of the shields renders the practice of stripping walls to exclude dampness unnecessary.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. The combination with the walls of a building, of a shield consisting of arectangular strip having dan ges along its longitudinal edges, said strip being of greater width than the thickness of the wall and arranged be- TOO tween the said Wall and its foundation with being constructed of metal and consisting of its flanges projecting downward, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination with the Walls of a building, of shields of a Width greater than the thickness of the Walls and provided With side flanges,said shields being arranged above and below the foundation of the said Walls, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the Walls of a building and its joists, of a shield adapted to exclude moisture and vermin, the said shield a body of greater Width than the thickness of the Wall to which the shield is to be applied, and langes formed at the sides of the body, one flange being adapted to extend beyond the outer face of the Wall and the other flange beyond its inner face to an engagement with the joists, as and for the purpose set forth. WILLIAM DURKIN. Witnesses:

WM. MARKEY, CHARLES H. WEISS. 

